Twenty-seven months after COVID-19 first showed up in Nebraska, there is still so much we don’t know about this virus. For example: Why do many people fully and quickly recover, while some suffer post-COVID symptoms for weeks, months, even years? That’s the question, and the story, that longtime reporter Roseann Moring dug into this week. She tells the story of Cindy Vanek, a story that begins near Halloween 2020 and stretches on a long, winding and uncertain recovery to today.
Mapping the post-Roe v. Wade future: As you have probably seen today, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion. A few weeks ago, FFP reporter Yanqi Xu talked to people on all sides of this issue about what might happen in Nebraska in a post-Roe world…and where pregnant Nebraskans may have to travel if they wish to receive an abortion.
Scottsbluffin’ It: This week, the entire full-time staff of the Flatwater Free Press hit the road. Executive director Matt Wynn and reporters Natalia Alamdari and Yanqi Xu drove across the state to do a listening tour stop in and around Scottsbluff. I wasn’t there, but reports indicate that Matt hit only one raccoon with his car. The trio met with more than 50 residents with the help of the Oregon Trail Community Foundation, which kindly hosted FFP in Scottsbluff. When the FFP staff arrived in Denver, where I already was — it’s this year’s destination of the Investigative Reporters and Editors, an amazing national conference we will annually attend — they were raving about the new story ideas they had and also the wings and pizza at Scottsbluff’s Flyover Brewing Company.
Scottsbluff was our fifth listening tour stop. We’re going to keep doing these because we know it’s important to hear from every Nebraskan, no matter where you live. Hastings is up next. Hastings-area residents, you will be getting the details from us soon.
We’re listening in Omaha and Lincoln, too: We also do these stops, in a more informal way, in both Omaha and Lincoln. Are you a member of a group or club that wants to talk to us about stories we should cover? Do you want to learn more about the future of journalism, nonprofit journalism, and the Flatwater Free Press? Email us at [email protected].
Last chance to send us photos of your FFP shirt, tote and/or mug: We’re doing a cool thing for the 4th of July this year, a celebration of our favorite amendment, the First Amendment. We need your help. Send us a photo of yourself or your loved one or your pet wearing a Flatwater Free Press t-shirt, holding an FFP tote bag or brandishing your FFP mug. And, if you are so moved, send us a sentence on why you support journalism!
Last call on this. You can email ‘em to us at [email protected] or simply by hitting reply to this newsletter. Thank you for your help in celebrating Independence Day the Flatwater Free Press way.
And, as always, if you would like to purchase some FFP swag you can do so right here.
Sincerely,
—Matthew Hansen, Executive Editor
Here’s what we’re into this week: News from around Nebraska
Every week we like to share great Nebraska journalism, no matter who made it. Here’s what caught our eye this week:
- Alyssa Schukar is one of the best photographers and photojournalists to ever hail from Nebraska. The one-time World-Herald standout is now D.C. based and freelancing for big-time publications like the New York Times. But she hasn’t forgotten her roots. Today, the Times published her latest photo story, focused on the years Alyssa has spent with the lone resident of Monowi, Nebraska, population 1.
- Want to live in a 2,500 square foot underground bunker near York that was once a nuclear missile launch site? OK, probably not, but you do want to read this story and look at these wild photos from Barney McCoy, a UNL journalism professor who did this story for Nebraska Public Media.
